Barcelona host FC Copenhagen on Wednesday aiming to clinch one of the final spots in the top eight of the Champions League league phase to qualify directly to the round of 16.
Following a much needed 4–2 victory away at Slavia Prague last week, Barcelona now require another healthy win to sneak into the top eight. Currently sitting ninth and level on 13 points with seven other teams, the goal difference tiebreaker will play a crucial role in the final league phase standings.
Although the Catalans don’t control their own destiny, defeating Copenhagen by a significant margin should suffice. However, the visitors are also fighting to avoid elimination, and will be motivated to pull off the upset.
Hansi Flick has significant absences to work around, but that won’t serve as much of an excuse if the defending Spanish champions fail to dispatch an inferior opponent.
After a slow start to their Champions League campaign, Barcelona can right their early season wrongs on Wednesday, or else they’ll be forced to participate in the risky playoff round.
Here is Sports Illustrated’s guide to the Champions League clash.
What Time Does Barcelona vs. Copenhagen Kick Off?
- Location: Barcelona, Spain
- Stadium: Spotify Camp Nou
- Date: Wednesday, Jan. 28
- Kick-off Time: 3:00 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. GMT
Barcelona vs. Copenhagen Head-to-Head Record
- Barcelona: 1 win
- Copenhagen: 0 wins
- Draws: 1
- Last Meeting: Copenhagen 1–1 Barcelona (Nov. 2, 2010)—Champions League
Current Form (All Competitions)
| Barcelona (WWLWW) | Copenhagen (WDDDW) |
|---|---|
| Barcelona 3–0 Real Oviedo | Copenhagen 3–2 B 93 |
| Slavia Prague 2–4 Barcelona | Copenhagen 1–1 Napoli |
| Real Sociedad 2–1 Barcelona | Sturm Graz 4–4 Copenhagen |
| Racing 0–2 Barcelona | Brann 1–1 Copenhagen |
| Barcelona 3–2 Real Madrid | Copenhagen 2–0 Esbjerg fB |
How to Watch Barcelona vs. Copenhagen on TV, Live Stream
| Country | TV/Live Stream |
|---|---|
| United States | Paramount+, DAZN USA |
| United Kingdom | discovery+, discovery+ App |
| Canada | DAZN Canada, fuboTV Canada |
| Mexico | TNT Sports, HBO MAX |
Barcelona Team News
By far the most significant challenge Flick faces for Wednesday’s clash is the unavailability of his starting midfield duo. Pedri suffered a hamstring injury last week that will sideline him for a month, and Frenkie de Jong picked up a suspension for yellow card accumulation.
Eric García is expected to start as the midfield anchor, with Gerard Martín once again deputizing at center back. With Barcelona needing to score goals, Dani Olmo could feature in Pedri’s role with an aggressive and attacking-minded XI.
Lamine Yamal will return to the lineup after serving his suspension in the win vs. Slavia Prague. He’ll be joined by Fermín López and Raphinha, with Robert Lewandowski leading the line of what on paper should be a potent Barça attack.
Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Copenhagen
Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Copenhagen (4-2-3-1): García; Koundé, Cubarsí, Martín, Balde; García, Olmo; Yamal, López, Raphinha; Lewandowski.
Copenhagen Team News
Despite not playing a single league game since early December due to the Danish league’s winter break, Copenhagen salvaged an impressive draw vs. Napoli last week to keep their hopes of reaching the playoff round alive.
Jacob Neestrup’s side won’t be able to call upon the suspended veteran Thomas Delaney, who joins the injured Magnus Mattsson and Rodrigo Huescas as the only notable absences from the trip to Catalonia.
Jordan Larsson—son of former Barça player Henrik Larsson—is Copenhagen’s biggest difference-maker in attack, becoming the key to his side securing seven of their eight league phase points in the last three games.
Copenhagen Predicted Lineup vs. Barcelona
Copenhagen Predicted Lineup vs. Barcelona (4-4-2): Kotarski; Meling, Pereira, Suzuki, López; Larsson, Madsen, Clem, Achouri; Moukoko, Elyounoussi.
Barcelona vs. Copenhagen Score Prediction
Barcelona will take the pitch at the Camp Nou acutely aware that they must score as many goals as possible to be positioned to advance directly to the last 16.
Flick’s side will ask questions of Copenhagen’s defense from the moment the starting whistle blows, but that also means they will leave spaces in behind for the visitors to exploit Barcelona’s evident defensive weaknesses.
It might take some time, much like against Real Oviedo at the weekend, but once Barcelona get a lead—especially a two-goal advantage—then the floodgates could open and more goals could come in bunches.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona vs. Copenhagen: Preview, Predictions and Lineups.
